Upon reading the assignment sheet for the first time, we all knew that this task would require organization, delegation and communication. Our first task, as a team, was to organize deadlines, ways of communicating, our overall theme and the separation of certain tasks to particular group members. Having three group members with all different technical abilities, it was crucial for us to correctly designate tasks to produce the best possible outcome. We were very fortunate to have three people who were all willing to put in the time and effort required for a project such as this, and who were all eager to do anything possible, or even extra, to help out the team.

We set up a Facebook group and a Google doc, enabling ourselves to be constantly up to date with each other’s movements and ideas. Deciding on a topic and a clear prompt has been the group’s biggest hurdle thus far. Through development of videos and ideas the prompt has gradually evolved and redefined itself. It took many weeks of debating, and trial and error, before we finally came to the decision of ‘fire is … the small things’. In our first meeting we set May 15th as the day to have our sixty videos completed. Having left ourselves with only two weeks for 20 videos, we soon realized that this date was unrealistic and turned to setting ourselves weekly goals instead. Tasks such as each producing five videos a week became the more preferable option.

The task of creating, editing and uploading the sixty videos was one that we all shared equally. All three of us really enjoyed making the short clips so it seemed like a rational and clear-cut option to just assign twenty videos each. Our effective communication came into play during the video production stage, as we would all discuss ideas and ask for advice for our individual videos. Having such strong teamwork during this stage enabled us to lay the groundwork for the rest of the assignment and see a clear direction in which we were all heading as a group.

After seeing the incredible layout that Thao had for her sketch K-film, Tess and I were both very much in favor of allowing Thao to create our interface. Having a natural flare for working with computers, editing and online web production, Thao was more than happy to take on this challenge, and even looked forward to exploring different interfaces. This was a huge relief for me personally as whilst I enjoyed creating my own, simple and basic, interface, the thought of creating one so elaborate terrified me. We all got involved in the discussion of ideas, trying to lessen the workload for Thao as much as possible. Making the decision to leave the interface production to one team member was a key decision. This not only played to Thao’s strengths, but also allowed our work to have the best possible presentation, as Thao is the strongest in this area.

To level the playing field, Tess and I made the decision to fulfill the requirements for the extra 5% in week thirteen, and to complete the bulk of the essay. Having allowed Thao to spend hours experimenting with two layouts for week ten, we were more than happy to do the writing and reporting side of things. Being the most organized out of the two of us, Tess kept the weekly minutes and documented our progress on a weekly basis, leaving me with the report. As the least technically able in the group, I was quick to inform my teammates that I was happy to do as much as I could to help with this kind of task in return for them helping me with technical aspects, and taking on the majority of the technical processes. Both Tess and I are students who enjoy writing, reflecting and investigating, making the essay seem like a task we would be able to manage and co-ordinate well. Whilst we were happy to do the entire essay, Thao, being such a team player, insisted on doing some of it also.

Tess and Thao will both be in charge of converting all the videos into the same format, and putting the final product onto the server. The development of keywords will be discussed and decided by the whole group, as will the SNU-ing process. We have been discussing keywords since the beginning of the project, but are still unsure on a final decision. We feel as though once we put the entire piece together we will have a clearer direction of the types of words we will need. Much like the prompt, the development of keywords has been an ever-evolving feature of this assignment.

With such a great team dynamic and acceptance of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we are confident in knowing that we will produce a compelling final product, in both the K-film and the Essay. Having made all the decisions as a team, the end product is shaping up exactly how we all envisioned and to the standards that we expected. We have thoroughly enjoyed the process to date and look forward to looking back on the piece with both pride, and relief!